1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to board games. More particularly, the present invention relates to the board game of chess having up two four players.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The standard game of chess is well known and played world wide. All of the potential moves have been documented and given time one can find the best counter move for any scenario presented by an opponent. The moves and counter moves are so well known that computers have been patented that can play the game against humans or against another computer. Many players study these materials and find that the excitement of the game is somewhat dulled.
The standard game of chess is played on a square game board divided into an eight by eight grid of squares alternately colored, typically white and black or red and black. Two sets of games pieces are arranged on opposite sides of the game board. The `high value` pieced are arranged on the row furthest from the opponent. The lowest value piece, the pawn, is arranged in row directly in front of the latter. The objective is to place the opponents king in a condition which is formed by positioning the high value pieces such that the opponents king cannot move with out violating the high value pieces territory.
A need exists to expand upon the basic proven game of chess to provide more of a challenge to the players. This is accomplished by expanding the game board to a 10.times.10 central grid with appendages added to each side. Each appendage comprises a set of game pieces. When this expanded game is provided, the complexity and number of moves increases providing a more complex game to the individuals.
Numerous innovations for Modified Chess Game have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,332, titled Chess-Type Game, invented by Joseph D. Hessnice, this invention is a chess-type board game apparatus and method of playing the same with a modified chess board having a main rectangular playing field and a generally pentagonal shaped field extending from one side thereof. The playing field as a whole comprises one-hundred eighteen identifiable squares of alternating color arranged in fourteen rank and eleven file rows and being divided into identical right and left halves about a center file row. Ten of the squares function as barriers which are strategically placed and are not available for occupancy by a playing piece. The playing field includes a throne square which imparts enhanced movement capabilities to playing pieces. The game is played by two opponents, each using ten playing pieces corresponding to the queen, knight, rook, and bishop of the conventional game of chess, each of the two sets of playing pieces being positioned at predetermined locations occupying the outer rank and file rows contained in the main rectangular field at the commencement of a game.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,017, titled Civil War Chess, invented by James A. Huston, the invention is a game of tactics and strategy, played on a special ten-square by ten-square checkered board of 100 alternately colored squares, with twenty pieces likened to figures of the American Civil War, on each of two opposing sides. Twenty Civil War playing pieces are allotted to each opposing player. While many of those pieces have traditional chess-type playing moves and capture strategy, some of the pieces, such as a gunboat on each side, have particularly unique moves that have no parallel in conventional chess. For example, a gunboat may not enter a thirty-six square restricted zone located at the interior of the board. A gunboat may, however, capture pieces within this restricted zone. Players, including the President, may board the gunboat, and with the President aboard the gunboat's moveability is the combination of the gunboat and the President's normal moves. With other players aboard, the gunboat's moves are simply its own; and, thus, the boarded gunboat does not have a combination of movement as it does when the President is aboard.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,813, titled Method of Playing Three-Dimensional Cubic Chess, invented by Allan Goff, three-dimensional chess played on a cubic playing field where moves are executed in cubic planes, and up to one-thousand playing positions are available. Ten boards are mounted over each other, each board defining a ten by ten matrix of one-hundred squares. The game is played by two opponents, each having a king, queen, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, two dukes, and ten pawns, the introduction of a duke being required for true three-dimensional movement of the playing pieces. Playing pieces move in reference to advancement squares, each piece having a defined planar movement pattern. Play on an eight by eight by eight or on an eight by eight by ten playing field configurations is possible by permitting the duke to occupy the same square as the bishop.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,666, titled Four-Player Chess, invented by Timothy J. Adams, the invented four-player chess game includes a plurality of distinguishable sets of playing pieces including pieces equivalent to pawns, rooks, knights, bishops, queens and kings. It also includes a board having a main playing area made from a square matrix of eighty-by-eight alternately colored playing spaces with two additional rows of eight alternately colored playing spaces adjacent each side of the main playing area. The game is played by placing each player's set of playing pieces on the game board so that each different set occupies two conventional chess arrangements. Each player moves, in turn, one of his playing pieces anywhere on the game board according to standard chess rules, except the pieces equivalent to pawns may move up to three spaces forward on each of those pieces'initial move. Playing pieces are captured according to standard chess rules, except the pieces equivalent to pawns initially located at the ends of the first additional rows of alternately colored playing spaces adjacent the main playing area may not move diagonally to capture another piece equivalent to a pawn that has not moved. When more than two players are playing and remain in the game, players are eliminated when their king is captured and actually removed from the board, at which time all the remaining playing pieces in the set of the removed king are taken off the board. Play continues until only two players remain, at which time the game ends when one player checkmates the other player's king or when neither player can checkmate the other player's king.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,349, titled Chess for Play by Two, Three or Four Persons, invented by Dan Shomer, a chess game is provided for play by two, three or four persons played according to the conventional rules of chess as to movement and capturing of pieces, castling, check and checkmate. As in conventional chess, each player possesses an initial force of a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks and eight pawns. The game is played on a checkerboard having two hundred eight playing squares arranged in a central playing array of twelve bilaterally arranged rows having twelve squares per row and bordered by four smaller staging arrays, each of the staging arrays having eight bilaterally arranged rows of two squares per row. One of each of the four staging arrays is longitudinally centered on and contiguous with each of the four sides of the central playing array. Two of the four staging arrays have squares of different colors from each other. The players may play as individuals, or they may play as partners, including two playing as partners against a third or four playing as two sets of partners against one another.
Numerous innovations for Four Way Chess Game have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.